This invention relates to improved materials for use in close contact with the human body such as innersoles, casts and splints, impact-absorbing pads, and other articles which are exposed to body perspiration and odor-causing substances. More particularly, the invention relates to an odor absorbing laminate having a surface conforming to the contours of a selected region of the body which wicks perspiration from the body.
It has long been a goal to provide various products used on the body with the capacity to minimize the undesirable effects of body perspiration, moisture and odor. Clothing and shoes, for example, often include designed features, fabrics, and materials directed to dispersing uncomfortable moisture from body surfaces. Polypropylene and other synthetic, hydrophobic fabrics are currently used in undergarments designed for wear during athletic activity because such fabrics are good insulators and wick perspiration away from the body.
Another example is the numerous commercially available, odor-absorbing shoe innersoles. Webs of material containing activated charcoal can make effective odor-absorbing innersoles but are usually too fragile to be effective for more than a short time. If such webs are placed in a laminate of sturdier materials, however, the other layers or the adhesives employed often interfere with the efficacy of the odor-absorbing layer. Generally, fabrication of such odor-absorbing laminates has been limited to the production of flat sheets from which innersoles or other shapes are cut. Because of the requirements of vapor and liquid permeability, the necessity of a large surface area of activated carbon being available for absorption, and the general fragility and design requirements of odor-absorbing materials, products used on the body such as casts, splints, pads, and the like which have odor absorbing properties have not been available commercially.
Greatest effort in this area apparently has been concentrated in innersole technology as is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,852,897, 4,062,131, 4,099,342, 4,137,110, 4,185,402, and 4,192,086. However, none of these deal with the peculiar problems of molding laminates that have a close-cell foamed plastic layer, and, generally, the innersoles shown can be improved greatly in their capacities for dispersing perspiration and absorbing odor.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a laminate that is sturdy, has enhanced odor-absorbing qualities, and is comfortable when maintained in direct contact with the human body. Another object is to provide a material which may be molded to form products for use on the body, such as shoe insoles, casts, impact absorbing pads, and similar products.